Patch 0.3.1 is the endgame change that still trips people up in outdated guides. Precursor Tablets stopped living on Towers. They go on the map you are about to run.
This is a summary of what actually changed — not the full notes. Full text stays on pathofexile.com.
What actually matters
- Tablets slot into the Map Device next to your Waystone. They apply to that one map, once. They are not a persistent Tower aura.
- Up to three Tablet slots. How many you get depends on Waystone modifiers — a 6-mod map unlocks all three.
- Tablets have uses. Each run spends a charge. When charges hit zero, the Tablet is gone.
- You cannot Tablet a map you have already attempted. Decide before you go in.
- Towers still matter, just differently: they reveal a large stretch of Atlas and drop an extra Tablet when you complete them. They are not where you stack juice anymore.
- Tablet modifiers were buffed (GGG’s note: generally about two to three times as strong) so a single map could still feel juicy after the overlap ceiling dropped.
- Alchemy Orbs can now turn a magic item into a rare (four new random modifiers). That was part of the same patch, aimed at Waystone crafting after tiered currency landed in 0.3.0.
If a guide talks about stacking Tower radiuses or “putting Tablets on the Tower,” it is describing the pre-0.3.1 system.
Still true later
0.5.0 rebuilt the Atlas around the Fortress, but this Tablet rule did not revert. The 4th slot you may see in later Atlas notes is a separate exception (Industrial Improvements + a City map) — not a return to Tower stacking.
On PoE Source
- Waystones & Tablets — how the Map Device works now
- PoE 2 Endgame lessons — Atlas, Fortress, and the 0.5 systems
- Farming strategies — juice on the waystone, not the Tower
Summarized for PoE Source; see official sources for full details.
Sources: 0.3.1 Patch Notes · Major Endgame Changes in Patch 0.3.1